A firefighter photographed in June mops up during the Black Forest fire that destroyed 486 homes. Lawmakers are considering tax credits to encourage homeowners to protect their properties. (Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post file)

Why should someone who has chosen to put their property at risk be awarded a tax credit to mitigate? That lost revenue has to come from somewhere and that would be, in part, from the sensible people who have already mitigated or don’t even need to. Instead, those individuals who choose to take a risk should pay for it themselves with higher insurance premiums. And if a fire occurs, firefighters should conduct a form of triage and first attempt to save those homes whose owners have made the effort to mitigate.

Just as people who live in flood plains should carry extra flood insurance, those who live in high-risk fire zones should have an increased premium. Otherwise, we should extend this silly tax credit idea to award similar credits to people who live in flood plains to pay for putting their homes on stilts!

Tamara Haygood, Parker

This letter was published in the Dec. 1 edition.

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